Tag Archive for: NLRB

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UAW Statement on the NLRB Member Firings

President Trump’s firing of Jennifer Abruzzo and illegal firing of Gwynne Wilcox is a bad start to a Presidential administration that says it wants to stand with the American worker. The so-called “radical” policies that Abruzzo and Wilcox pursued under the National Labor Relations Act weren’t radical at all. They stood for the principle of democracy in the workplace, giving working class Americans a fair shot at standing up on the job for fair pay, healthcare, retirement, and work-life balance through a union contract.

Aside from dismissing Abruzzo, the most pro-worker NLRB general counsel in our lifetime, and illegally terminating Wilcox, a highly qualified, competent Board member who advocated for workplace rights, the Trump Administration’s actions now spike hundreds of cases before the Board, deferring or denying justice for thousands of UAW members. This move has real world consequences that harm the working class and harm UAW members everywhere.

At Mercedes, Toyota, Blue Oval SK (a Ford & SK joint venture), Webasto, Julian Electric, and more, workers have filed Unfair Labor Practice charges against their employers to hold them accountable for illegal union-busting actions taken by management. Those cases are now at risk.

From Stellantis to Columbia University, UAW members have open NLRB cases against employers who have refused to bargain in good faith. Those cases are now at risk.

We have an open Unfair Labor Practice charge at Mack Truck for their violating our UAW contract and shipping good blue-collar American jobs to exploit workers in Mexico, a goal that the Trump Administration says they champion. That case is now at risk.

These moves don’t just weaken the NLRB, a federal agency. They also weaken the working class. When workers lose their ability to seek justice when employers break the law, it means more delay on fair pay, fairness on the job, and a fair contract for tens of thousands of workers. It means fewer rights for the working class and greater impunity for corporate criminality. It means more money for the billionaires, and less for the working class. Trump says he wants to help working class America and bring jobs back with his tariffs, but without a strong NLRB, those same jobs are at risk. These moves are a stain on President Trump’s agenda for the working class.

We call on President Trump to immediately reinstate Gwynne Wilcox to the National Labor Relations Board and appoint a General Counsel who will hold true to the text of the National Labor Relations Act by “encouraging the practice and procedure of collective bargaining and by protecting the exercise by workers of full freedom of association, self- organization, and designation of representatives of their own choosing, for the purpose of negotiating the terms and conditions of their employment or other mutual aid or protection.”

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UAW Statement on Tariffs and Renegotiating U.S. Trade Agreements

The UAW supports aggressive tariff action to protect American manufacturing jobs as a good first step to undoing decades of anti-worker trade policy. We do not support using factory workers as pawns in a fight over immigration or drug policy. We are willing to support the Trump Administration’s use of tariffs to stop plant closures and curb the power of corporations that pit US workers against workers in other countries. But so far, Trump’s anti-worker policy at home, including dissolving collective bargaining agreements and gutting the National Labor Relations Board, leaves American workers facing worsening wages and working conditions even while the administration takes aggressive tariff action.

If Trump is serious about bringing back good blue-collar jobs destroyed by NAFTA, the USMCA, and the WTO, he should go a step further and immediately seek to renegotiate our broken trade deals. The national emergency we face is not about drugs or immigration, but about a working class that has fallen behind for generations while corporate America exploits workers abroad and consumers at home for massive Wall Street paydays. We need to stop plant closures, bring back American jobs, and stop the global race to the bottom immediately. Any tariff action must be followed with a renegotiation of the USMCA, and a full review of the corporate trade regime that has devastated the American and global working class.

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Battery Workers at BlueOval SK in Kentucky File for First Major Union Election in the South in 2025

GLENDALE, Ky. — A supermajority of workers at battery maker BlueOval SK filed a petition Tuesday with the National Labor Relations Board for a vote to form their union with the UAW. The election filing at BlueOval SK (BOSK), a new joint venture of Ford and SK On, is the first major filing in the South in 2025 and continues the movement of Southern autoworkers organizing with the UAW.

In a new video, BOSK workers talk about why they’re voting yes to form their union. The video can be accessed here and the media is invited to use the footage. More information about the campaign, including first-person statements from BOSK workers, is at: uaw.org/bosk.

“We’re forming our union so we can have a say in our safety and our working conditions,” said Halee Hadfield, a quality operator at BOSK. “The chemicals we’re working with can be extremely dangerous. If something goes wrong, a massive explosion can occur. With our union, we can speak up if we see there’s a problem and make sure we’re keeping ourselves and the whole community safe.”

The BOSK workers publicly launched their campaign to join the UAW in November once a supermajority of workers had signed union cards. The company has responded to the campaign by hiring anti-union consultants who are trying to block the workers from organizing.

“What we’re doing here can be transformative, but there are problems with management that we have to fix,” said Angela Conto, a production operator in formation at BOSK. “Instead of listening to our safety concerns, management has been ordering people to work without proper protective equipment. Now they’re trying to stop us from forming our union to win a strong voice for safety. But the strong supermajority of workers who’ve signed union cards show we’re going to fix what’s wrong at BOSK and make it the leading manufacturer of electric vehicle batteries in America.”

In December, the BOSK workers held a town hall in Elizabethtown, Ky., with UAW members from Ultium Cells in Lordstown, Ohio, which makes battery cells for GM’s electric vehicle fleet. Ultium opened as a nonunion plant in 2022, and workers there encountered many of the same problems the BOSK workers face now. An Ultium worker explained how they organized with the UAW and won a union contract with strong safety protections and life-changing raises and benefits.

“I have worked both union and nonunion jobs and have seen the power of a union firsthand,” said Andrew McLean, a logistics worker in formation at BOSK. “Right now, we don’t have a say at BOSK. With a union, we’ll be on a level playing field with management. That’s so important when you’re getting a new plant off the ground. The union allows us to give honest feedback without fear of retaliation.”

The BOSK workers are building on the victories at Ultium in Lordstown, and also at the new Ultium plant in Spring Hill, Tenn., where workers joined the UAW in September. The growing unionization movement among nonunion battery workers across the country, and especially in the South, builds off the success of the UAW’s Stand Up Strike at the Big Three and the victory by Volkswagen workers in Chattanooga, Tenn., who became the first Southern autoworkers outside the Big Three to win their union when they voted to join the UAW in April.

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Lucid Workers Win Substantial Back Pay and Reinstatement in Dramatic Settlement

Workers organizing at the electric vehicle maker Lucid have won a settlement with a quarter-million dollars in back pay, the right to return to work, and a sweeping cease and desist order that stops the company from committing a long list of unfair labor practices.

The settlement, approved on Dec. 31 by the National Labor Relations Board, is a Formal Board Settlement. Formal settlements are typically reserved for companies committing serious labor law violations. The Lucid settlement stems from unfair labor practice charges filed by the UAW for the 2023 firing of three workers organizing with the union. Those firings and other anti-union efforts by Lucid were found to be so extreme that the NLRB sought and obtained a rare 10(j) injunction against the company this September. 

“This settlement shows a better way forward for Lucid and companies like it,” said Lucid worker Amie Hansen, who received $120,000 in back pay in the settlement and the right to return permanently to her job. “Instead of trying to block our right to organize, Lucid should have been working with us all along as we’ve struggled to get this company off the ground. Respect for the voice of workers is critical to the long-term success of this company.”

The settlement ensures that Lucid workers will have the right to make their voices heard. In the settlement, Lucid accepts the Board’s order that it must cease and desist committing a list of nine unfair labor practices including:  

  • Firing or threatening employees for engaging in protected organizing activities 
  • Surveilling employees to discover if they’re engaged in organizing 
  • Confiscating union literature from non-work areas 


Lucid also must take positive steps to make whole three fired workers with back pay, damages and interest payments totaling $258,000. In addition, within 14 days of the Dec. 31 order, the company must distribute a video about the settlement to workers at Lucid’s two facilities in Casa Grande, Ariz. The video will be recorded in a company cafe area by a Board agent who will inform workers of the settlement and their rights to organize under U.S. law. The company will also post physical notices of the settlement and workers’ rights at its Casa Grande locations.

“Every autoworker in America can take heart from this settlement,” said UAW President Shawn Fain. “Lucid is backed by the Saudi sovereign wealth fund, the deepest pockets in the world. But Lucid workers stood up and won justice. They showed that no matter how big the challenge workers can win when they stand together and fight for a better life.”

“This is a significant victory for worker and climate justice,” said UAW Region 6 Director Mike Miller.  “We’re building the green economy to create a more sustainable future. But we will only have a truly sustainable future if we build our economy around protecting both the planet and workers’ right to organize for justice on the job without employer interference.” 

The UAW has aggressively supported the Lucid workers’ fight to form their union. When Lucid fired the workers for organizing in February 2023, the UAW filed multiple unfair labor practice charges with the NLRB. Acting on the union’s charges, the Board sought and won the 10(j) injunction, which ordered the company to offer interim reinstatement to the workers even before the settlement was approved on Dec. 31.

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UAW Files Federal Labor Charges, Grievances Against Stellantis for Violating Contract, Refusing to Provide Information, and Moving Durango Production Out of America

On Monday, the UAW filed federal unfair labor practice charges at the National Labor Relations Board for Stellantis’ illegal refusal to provide information about the company’s plans regarding product commitments it made in the UAW’s 2023 collective bargaining agreement.

Several UAW locals covering thousands of members have also filed contract grievances over the company’s attempt to move Dodge Durango production out of the United States, in violation of the UAW’s national agreement.

On Tuesday, September 17, at 7pm ET, UAW President Shawn Fain will address the UAW membership on Facebook Live. The media is invited to watch on UAW’s YouTube or social media accounts.

“In our 2023 contract, we won major gains, including a commitment to reopen an idled assembly plant in Belvidere, Illinois, and to build the Dodge Durango in Detroit. We also won the right to strike over those commitments, if we have to,” said UAW President Shawn Fain. “Now, Stellantis wants to go back on the deal. As a united UAW, we intend to enforce our contract, and to make Stellantis keep the promise.”

“Stellantis is one of the most profitable auto companies on the planet, and makes its money off of the American market,” said UAW Stellantis Department Director Kevin Gotinsky. “UAW members generate that profit and build the product that keeps this company running. We will take action if necessary to stop Stellantis from violating our contract and abandoning the American worker.”

More than a dozen local unions covering tens of thousands of Stellantis workers have filed grievances against the company’s attempt to back out of their commitment to reopen Belvidere Assembly and other violations of the product & investment commitments secured in the UAW’s Stand Up Strike last year. The filings are the union’s latest push to get Stellantis to Keep The Promise to American autoworkers.

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UAW Delegation to Germany to Confront Union-Busting at Webasto

Detroit, MI – UAW announced today that a delegation of UAW leaders will bring major concerns about illegal anti-union behavior at Webasto, a German parts supplier with plants in the Detroit area, to counterparts in Germany at a meeting scheduled for next week. The delegation comes after Webasto workers had previously filed Unfair Labor Practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board. UAW also says that it is actively considering whether to file an additional complaint in German Court if Webasto’s illegal anti-union activities do not stop.

“We’re just asking for Webasto to respect our basic rights,” said Isaiah Towns, who works in Webasto – Detroit’s Bonding department. “No one should have to go through what Webasto has been subjecting us to. It’s time for the threats, harassment, and bullying to stop.”

A clear majority of the approximately 600 workers at Webasto – Detroit had previously filed for their union election in late July. The election has been scheduled for September 9 and 10. Workers at the plant report facing excessive anti-union harassment and intimidation from Webasto management. The factory makes the roof top used on the Ford Broncos manufactured by UAW members at the Michigan Assembly Plant. Webasto has distributed anti-union literature with the Ford Bronco logo prominently displayed along with the message “No Bucking Union.”

“This company needs to be held accountable,” said Pelle Burnett, who works in Webasto – Detroit’s PU department. “Webasto has shown that they will go to any length to stop us from winning the right to bargain collectively together. Even though we haven’t won our union yet, we’re still ready to Stand Up to make this unacceptable behavior stop.”

Among other examples of anti-union activity, workers say Webasto has:

  • Disciplined, isolated, intimidated, and terminated workers in retaliation for their union support
  • Changed policy to require workers to get permission before using the bathroom and then prevented a union supporter from using the bathroom for two hours
  • Required workers to attend captive audience meetings
  • Used video cameras to surveil union activity
  • Maintained an unlawful rulebook

An Unfair Labor Practice charge filed with the NLRB noted 17 separate instances of unlawful conduct committed by Webasto managers at the time of the filing. The National Labor Relations Board is actively investigating the charge.

In addition to Webasto’s obligations under American law, if the company is found to be in violation of German law, they could face serious financial sanctions.

An LM-10 filed with the U.S. Department of Labor revealed that Webasto previously paid over $300,000 to an anti-union consulting firm to try to persuade workers at the Webasto-Pilot Road plant against forming a union with the UAW. Ultimately, those workers were able to overcome the anti-union campaign and win a first contract that included raises of up to 51% over three years, better benefits, and improved attendance policies.

In addition to the election at Webasto – Detroit, a clear majority of the approximately 35 workers at Webasto’s Hearns facility filed to form their union on August 27 with the UAW. An election date is in the process of being scheduled.

“Workers want a voice. Workers want to be able to have a free and fair election. Workers want to have their rights respected,” said Steve Gonzales, president of UAW Local 3000. “And we will never back down in making sure that workers win what they deserve.”

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Joint Statement from UAW and Volkswagen on Certification of Election Results in Chattanooga

The National Labor Relations Board has certified the results of the election in which Volkswagen Chattanooga employees voted for representation by the United Auto Workers. Volkswagen and union workers around the world have a long history of successfully building vehicles together, and we are jointly committed to a strong and successful future at Volkswagen Chattanooga with the UAW. We share many common goals: providing a positive working environment where employees are well compensated for their hard work building quality vehicles and share in the company’s success. Both sides are now focused on collective bargaining and entering negotiations in the spirit of working together to reach a fair agreement and build world-class automobiles together. 

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Alabama Workers File Federal Charges Against Mercedes-Benz, Request Government Injunction to End Company’s Illegal Union Busting

VANCE, Ala. – Workers at Mercedes-Benz’s largest U.S. plant have filed multiple federal charges with the National Labor Relations Board in response to the company’s aggressive and illegal union-busting. Workers are requesting an injunction to put an end to the company’s retaliation against workers for standing up for their rights at work. In February, Mercedes workers announced that a majority of their coworkers at the Mercedes plant in Vance had signed union authorization cards. Every Mercedes plant in the world is unionized—except the company’s two plants in the United States. 

“Since we started organizing, I put in my FMLA leave with management multiple times and every time they said they lost the paperwork,” said Lakeisha Carter, a Mercedes employee in the battery plant. “I’m an outspoken union supporter and Mercedes illegally disciplined me for medical absences that were clearly covered by my FMLA requests. It’s just plain retaliation from Mercedes, but I’m not going to be intimidated.” 

In February, the U.S. Department of Labor recovered $438,625 in back wages, unpaid bonuses, and damages for two former workers at the Mercedes plant in Vance after management violated their rights to protected leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act. 

Al Ezell, a public union supporter in the Mercedes battery plant, has stage 4 lung cancer and supply chain issues have made it difficult for him to receive his medication. Al was given permission to have his phone on the factory floor in case his doctor called him about refilling his prescription. 

“Management called me into the office to discipline me for having my phone on the floor. My manager looked me in the face and told me she didn’t care that I have cancer or that I had permission, she was going to enforce the company’s zero tolerance policy,” said Ezell. “We’ve never had a zero-tolerance policy for having a phone on the floor. Management is just trying to scare us, but we won’t back down.”  

“Mercedes is forcing me and my coworkers to attend meetings and watch anti-union videos that are full of lies,” said Taylor Snipes, another worker in the Mercedes battery plant. “I finally had enough and asked my group leader if I had to watch the video and he treated me like a child, telling me I either had to watch the video or put my head down on the desk.” 

Later that day, Mr. Snipes was called into a meeting with Mercedes management and immediately fired for having his phone on the factory floor. Taylor had previously been given permission to have his phone on the floor so he could check for messages from his child’s day care center.  

“During the meeting, I told management that it was suspicious that I was being called into the office on the same day that I spoke up in anti-union meeting,” said Snipes. “My manager said the two had nothing to do with one another, but then proceeded to aggressively interrogate me about why I support having a union.” 

Mercedes workers are part of the national movement of non-union autoworkers organizing to join the UAW in the wake of the historic Stand Up Strike victory at the Big Three auto companies. Over 10,000 non-union autoworkers have signed union cards in recent months, with public campaigns launched at Mercedes, Volkswagen in Chattanooga, Tenn., Hyundai in Montgomery, Ala., and Toyota in Troy, Mo. Workers at over two dozen other facilities are also actively organizing. For more information, visit uaw.org/join. 

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